Press releases

- Virgin Mobile takes the frazzle out of fundraising to help community groups raise funds -

Sydney, 14 January 2013 – Virgin Mobile today launched the Virgin Mobile Ice Dream Van, an initiative where customers can nominate a community group of their choice for the opportunity to win a visit from the Virgin Mobile Ice Dream Van. The successful applicants will receive a two hour visit which includes a supply of ice cream and the smiling Ice Dream Van crew who will help raise money for the community initiative by giving out ice creams in return for a gold coin donation.

In recognition of the huge contribution Australians make to charities each year and the universal popularity of a refreshing ice cream in Summer, the scheme will support a variety of groups that benefit the communities they operate in. From sporting groups to school events and non-forprofits, the Ice Dream Van will be available at no cost to help raise funds for the organisation. We think that’s a pretty sweet deal!

The Virgin Mobile Ice Dream Van is available to all Virgin Mobile Australia customers who can nominate their community event via a dedicated Facebook tab and on Virgin Mobile's website. Customers can choose to support their application by uploading a video or photograph, explaining why their community group would benefit from a visit from the Ice Dream Van.

Commenting on the new initiative, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: "We know our customers are passionate about supporting their local communities. What better way to ignite change than with the help of our customers."

Acknowledging that fundraising can gross significant resources from a community group, Virgin Mobile is offering customers an alternative that ensures every dollar raised goes directly to the community group, and removes the frazzle from the fundraising.

David continued, "The Virgin Mobile Ice Dream Van is just one way that Virgin Mobile is helping our customers make a difference in their communities and truly generate change for good. Taking responsibility for the environment in which we operate is an inherent part of the Virgin brand, and doing so in a cheeky Virgin way, with a great retro ice cream van simply made sense. We have one million Virgin Mobile customers who have the power to create positive change, and we’re hoping to help them achieve their fundraising goals in association with their local communities this summer."

To find out how you can apply to have the Virgin Mobile Ice Dream Van visit your community event and make some dreams come true, simply visit www.virginmobile.com.au/ice-dream-van.

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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Melissa Gompes | Virgin Mobile | Phone: 02 9028 1970 | melissa.gompes@virginmobile.com.au

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 12 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

About the Virgin Mobile Ice Cream Van:

Once owned by famous music industry DJ Muscles, the 1979 classic Bedford Ice Cream Van has been part of the Virgin Mobile family for over 5 years, helping spread the love over the summer months.

In its time, the van has been a regular on the festival scene, having visited many music events including V festivals, St Jerome’s Laneway festival and Splendour in the Grass. True to its roots, the Virgin Mobile Ice Cream Van even plays a remixed DJ-version of the classic Mr Whippy tune, Greensleaves.

Virgin Mobile and the community:

Virgin Mobile is passionate about supporting Australian communities, and has had a strong partnership with the Oasis Youth Support Network for a number of years. In association with our not-for-profit Virgin Group foundation, Virgin Unite, we are committed to reversing the trend of youth homelessness in Australia.

Virgin Mobile is proud to be the carrier of choice for the Oasis Youth Support Network, supplying handsets and airtime to all full-time employees.

Virgin Mobile is also the proud sponsor of the Oasis Street Connect bus; delivering technology to the streets of Sydney by providing homeless and at risk youths with access to laptop computers, wireless broadband connection and mobile phone access. Homeless youths can access this technology to send and receive emails, reconnect with family and friends and search for accommodation.

- Virgin Mobile launches new customer initiative that puts reviews in the hands of consumers -

Sydney, 26 November 2012 – Virgin Mobile today launched the Virgin Mobile Tester Team, a new customer initiative, where selected customers will have the opportunity to test out the latest handsets in exchange for producing a two-minute video review. Recent research reveals that online consumer reviews are the second most trusted source of product information, only behind information received from friends and family ¹ . Aussies looking to purchase a new handset will now be able to also turn to Tester Team reviews for content they trust.

The Virgin Mobile Tester Team program is open for all Virgin Mobile Australia customers who can nominate themselves via a dedicated Facebook tab and on Virgin Mobile's website. The successful Tester Team participants will be sent the latest handset to test drive and asked to review the phone model’s pros and cons via a two-minute video that will be uploaded to Virgin Mobile's YouTube page and the Tester's own social media channels. They then get to keep the handset.

The initiative follows the trend on YouTube for users to upload videos of themselves, documenting the unboxing process and revealing the moment of newly purchased, must-have technology products and the increasing popularity of these clips. Consumers can follow the conversation from The Tester Team participants, who will be encouraged to post their own tech tips on Twitter, using the hashtag #virginmobiletester.

Commenting on the new initiative, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: "The customer experience has always been at the core of everything we do at Virgin Mobile. We care about what our customers think, so who better to review our products than those who use them. By asking real people - our customers - to review handsets openly means people are getting a fair and honest review by everyday people, not just the technology pros."

Recognising the value of peer endorsement, Virgin Mobile is excited to provide real reviews from real people via the Virgin Mobile Tester Team.

David continued, "The Virgin Mobile Tester Team is just one way that Virgin Mobile is putting control in our customers' hands, providing reviews that reflect how our customers actually use their phones on a daily basis. We have one million Virgin Mobile customers who are in fact handset experts, so who better to review our handsets than our own passionate customers."

To find out how you can be part of the Handset Tester team or to check out reviews, visit www.virginmobile.com.au/tester-team.

1) According to Nielsen’s latest Global Trust in Advertising report, 2012

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Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a GREAT Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

- Virgin Mobile has all the trimmings this silly season with a number of exciting new handsets -

Christmas has come early at Virgin Mobile Australia with an exciting range of new handsets and offers. Ahead of the festive season, Virgin Mobile is launching the muchanticipated Sony XperiaTM acro S, Samsung Galaxy Note II 4G and Windows Phone 8S HTC handsets. Not forgetting Virgin Mobile is also offering the HTC SV 4G from 3 December, leaving you and your loved ones spoilt for choice this year.

Samsung Galaxy Note II 4G

Virgin Mobile Australia is excited to announce it will begin taking pre-orders for the extremely anticipated Samsung Galaxy Note II 4G as of November 22.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II 4G will be available from as little as $10 per month on the Fair Go $59 plan (Min. total cost over 24 months $1,656)

Includes:

• $700 credit
• Unlimited standard national text
• 3 GB data (for use within Oz)

Handset features include:

• Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
• S pen enabled touchscreen
• 8MP camera & HD video
• NAVIGON guided navigation
• 4G enabled

For more information and additional plan options go to http://www.virginmobile.com.au/samsung-galaxy-note-2/

Sony Xperia^TM acro S

Virgin Mobile Australia happily announces it will launch the highly anticipated Sony Xperia^TM

acro S as of November 22.

The Sony Xperia^TM acro S will be available from as little as $0 per month on Big Plan $39 (Min. total cost over 24 months $936).

Includes:

• $450 credit
• 1 GB data (for use within Oz)

Handset features include:

• The highest level of water and dust resistance on any Android smartphone
• Scratch-resistant display with wet finger tracking
• Razor sharp clarity. HD Reality Display and full HD video recording

For more information and additional plan options go to http://www.virginmobile.com.au/Shop/ProductDetails/12634/Sony-Xperia-acro-S

Windows Phone 8S by HTC

Virgin Mobile Australia has stocked up on Windows Phone 8S by HTC handsets before the crazy rush this Christmas! The handset will be available in store from December 3. The Windows Phone 8S by HTC is available from as little as $0 on the Big Plan $29 (Min. total cost $696).

Handset features include:

• Bright super LCD 4” screen allowing users to see the Windows Phone in beautiful colour
• Live Tiles - every message and photo with crystal clarity
• Studio quality sound with Beats Audio Tuning
• Free 7GB SkyDrive account so you’re never without your content

BYO Plan Offer

As of November 22 until January 31 anyone who signs up to a Postpaid BYO* plan will receive 1 GB additional data each month for the life of their plan.

On top of boasting some of the best included value in Australia, customers still receive all the Virgin Mobile benefits that they’ve come to know and love including: unlimited mobile calls Virgin-to-Virgin within Oz, unlimited standard national text, free Voicemail in Oz, the ability to rollover unused mobile credit to the next month, international calls and text included in some plans, and great coverage on the Optus network.

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Please contact Katie at One Green Bean for further information:
Katier@onegreenbean.com.au / 02 8020 1827

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a GREAT Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

BYO* - Bring Your Own – BYO Plans offer the customer the freedom to bringing their own device to receive any current postpaid mobile plans for $10 less each month. BYO customers can leave anytime by paying all outstanding charges (billed & unbilled).

- Virgin Mobile unveils 'Sweet Gig' campaign starring Doug Pitt -

Sydney, 8th October 2012 – Australians are more willing to consider Virgin Mobile than ever before, with the telco enjoying an unprecedented increase in brand awareness and consideration following its Fair Go Bro campaign.

According to its latest Brand Health results, there was a massive 21% jump in awareness and 23% increase in consideration for Virgin Mobile from June to August 2012. Virgin Mobile attributes much of this success to its Fair Go Bro campaign, which saw it give Brad Pitt’s brother Doug a fair go and a taste of the cele-bro-ty lifestyle, as the face of its campaign.

“There’s no question that Fair Go Bro has significantly helped shoot Virgin Mobile into people’s consideration set by leveraging the equity of the Virgin brand to deliver our Fair Go message in a truly Virgin way” said Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

“We don’t compete with other telcos’ media budgets, but we can make our media budget work harder when we nail consumer engagement. Fair Go Bro was purposely social-by-design so that it would drive mass talkability and ultimately deliver on earned media – and the results speak for themselves. The campaign generated more in earned media value than was spent in paid media.”

The Fair Go Bro campaign launched in July and quickly went viral, generating over 1.6 million views of the teaser video; 31,000+ ‘likes’ for Doug on the campaign website and a PR reach of more than 160 million globally.

According to the Brand Health research, prompted advertising awareness for Virgin Mobile has also risen substantially by 50%. David said typically telcos will see a 1-2% increase in brand health from quarter to quarter:

“These scores are proof that good ideas can come from anywhere, and the best output is achieved when you have true collaboration between PR, social, creative, ATL and media to turn a great engaging idea into one that is outstanding and delivers through the line with the maximum ROI.”

Further leveraging the success of Fair Go Bro, Virgin Mobile is using Doug Pitt for a major retail campaign entitled ‘Sweet Gig’. Running from now until the end of November, ‘Sweet Gig’ offers consumers a free (sweet) 1GB of data for the life of their plan if they sign up with a Samsung handset.

A 30-second TVC, which launched yesterday on free-to-air and subscription TV, shows Doug Pitt living the cele-bro-ty lifestyle on his recent trip to Australia and enjoying his own ‘Sweet Gig’ as the face of the Virgin Mobile campaign.

The voiceover explains: “At Virgin Mobile we’ve given Doug Pitt a pretty sweet gig, so we think it’s only fair you get one too. Get a Samsung Galaxy SII for an extra $5 per month on the Big Plan $29 and we’ll give you a bonus gig of data. That’s a massive 1.25gb of data for the life of your plan.”

Media support will include TV, print, outdoor, online and radio.

~ ENDS ~

Sweet Gig Campaign Agency credits:
ATL: Havas Worldwide
Production Company: Revolver
PR & Social Media: One Green Bean
Media: Starcom

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

ARE YOU READY FOR SERIOUSLY QUICK MOBILE INTERNET? VIRGIN MOBILE IS.

Virgin Mobile announces 4G Network and 4G Handset Available for Pre-Order

Sydney, Australia, 5th September 2012: Virgin Mobile Australia today announced it is now 4G ready. From today, 4G is available to Virgin Mobile customers on post paid mobile plans in selected areas in Sydney, Perth and Newcastle, with Melbourne from 15th September 2012. Selected areas of Brisbane and Adelaide will follow in 2013. To mark the launch of 4G on the Optus network, Virgin Mobile customers can now preorder the Samsung Galaxy S III 4G for just $7 on the Fair Go Bro $59.* Customers can pre-order here: http://www.virginmobile.com.au/4g

Virgin Mobile 4G will provide customers with:

• “seriously quick” mobile internet
• less buffering, faster downloads & improved HD video quality
• access to 4G on any of our current post paid mobile plans
• 4G coverage in selected areas of Sydney, Perth and Newcastle with selected areas of Melbourne to launch on 15th September with selected areas of Brisbane and Adelaide to follow in 2013
• access to the Optus 3G Dual Band network which reaches over 900,000 sq KM of landmass and reaches over 97% of the Australian population when out of 4G coverage areas

Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner, said: “We are thrilled to today announce that we are 4G ready; it is an extremely exciting time within the Telco industry and it changes the landscape as we know it. We know our customers use their phones more than ever for data and this launch will provide our customers with faster downloads and seriously quick mobile internet. As a pacesetter in the market, Virgin Mobile continues to offer great valued products and we are proud our customers are the most satisfied of all network providers. The launch of 4G is another step in delivering on our commitment to a fair go for all.”

Virgin Mobile will also be launching Mobile Broadband 4G later this year. For more information on Virgin Mobile's 4G offering visit http://www.virginmobile.com.au/4g and to check the coverage in your local area, please head to www.virginmobile.com.au/coverage. On top of getting some of the best included value in Australia and access to the new 4G network, Virgin Mobile post paid customers will continue to receive all the benefits that they’ve come to know and love including: unlimited mobile calls and text Virgin-to-Virgin, free voicemail in Oz, the ability to rollover unused mobile credit to the next month, international calls and text included and great coverage on the Optus network.

Minimum total cost over 24 months $1,584

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Please contact Lené at One Green Bean for further information: lene@onegreenbean.com.au / 02 8020 1834 What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

DOUG PITT REACHES CELE-BRO-TY STATUS IN NEW TVC
FOR VIRGIN MOBILE’S FAIR GO BRO CAMPAIGN

www.FairGoBro.com.au

Sydney, 10 August 2012 – Virgin Mobile will launch phase three of its Fair Go Bro campaign this Sunday with the launch of a new TVC starring Doug Pitt at last enjoying a taste of the good life his brother is so well accustomed to as he reaches cele-bro-ty status. The 30-second TVC shows Doug living it up A-list style as he walks down the red carpet, equipped with his own band, a Segway-riding entourage and a personal choir singing a Doug Pitt chorus. The latest installment of the campaign will air nationally from this Sunday 12th August on free-to-air and subscription TV.

Commenting on the new TVC, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: “Doug Pitt has been through a pretty incredible journey with Virgin Mobile and this TVC marks his arrival on the A-list, ahead of his visit to Australia to experience the celebrity treatment in the country that made him a star.”

The TVC will air nine days before Doug arrives in Australia for the first time for his Virgin Mobile endorsement tour, during which Doug will experience the celebrity life in Australia. Doug has a typically A-list itinerary incorporating media interviews, public appearances and sightseeing . He will be joined by his Australian entourage, selected by a national search facilitated via the campaign website, with five lucky winners scoring a VIP trip to Sydney to help keep Doug company as part of his party-posse.

The social-by-design Fair Go Bro campaign launched online on 2nd July 2012, centring around the website www.FairGoBro.com.au, where consumers are encouraged to ‘show Doug some like’ and view the documentary-style teaser about Doug Pitt. Since the campaign’s launch, Doug has received more than 30,000 ‘likes’ and the video documentary has gone viral. Fair Go Bro sees Virgin Mobile rebelling against the standard celebrity endorsement. Instead, Virgin Mobile is giving a famous celebrity’s brother a fair go and is giving Doug Pitt a taste of the limelight with his first-ever celebrity endorsement. Head to www.FairGoBro.com.au to view the full range of TVCs, show Doug some ‘like’ and be the first to find out what’s next.

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Agency credits:
Concept Creation: Euro RSCG & One Green Bean
ATL: Euro RSCG
PR: One Green Bean
Social Media: One Green Bean
Digital Design & Development: Future Büro
Media: Starcom
TV Production: The Glue Society (Matt Devine)

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about? Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

- Virgin Mobile live streams headline acts to almost half a million Aussies from Splendour in the Grass -

www.FairGoBro.com.au

Sydney, 3rd August 2012 - Virgin Mobile has further cemented its position in Australian music history, with the revelation that its live stream from Splendour in the Grass 2012 was one of the most successful on record, reaching just under half a million unique browsers.

In 2010 Virgin Mobile was the first brand in Australia to live stream from a music festival, broadcasting the entire Temper Trap set live from Splendour in the Grass over the web. Virgin Mobile then brought the Aussie music masses its longest-ever festival stream when a record audience of 285,150 viewed its stream of 2011 Splendour acts including Coldplay, Kaiser Chiefs and Elbow.

This year, Virgin Mobile achieved the second highest viewed YouTube stream in Australian history, broadcasting performances from the likes of Kimbra, Band of Skulls and Miike Snow directly from the Mixup and Supertop stages at Splendour in the Grass 2012, on Saturday 28th July. Eight hours of slickly produced music and exclusive interviews proved to be a winning combination for the YouTube audience with this year's stream garnering 457,000 views live on YouTube on Saturday alone.

The Virgin Mobile live stream from Splendour in the Grass 2012 involved:

• 20 different cameras used to capture the action
• 405 minutes of live music being recorded
• 3500 frames of high definition digital festival footage being captured
• 4kms of cable being run
• 4 separate crews recording 2 live stages
• 8 great interviews in the Virgin Mobile interview area back stage
• 37 crew members working a total of 1940hours

Virgin Mobile's Marketing Director, David Scribner, said, "We're really excited to have once again delivered exclusive access to fans and music lovers who couldn't make it to the festival. We have been pioneers in live-streaming ever since we first live-streamed the Temper Trap in 2010 and are proud, this year, to have delivered the second most successful YouTube stream in Australian history."

2012 was Virgin Mobile's third year of sponsoring the prestigious festival, with activations extended beyond the festival grounds for the first time. In a never-before-seen activation, Virgin Mobile customers registered before the festival for them and a plus one via a Facebook app and then picked up their Near Field Communications (NFC) wristband once onsite. Registered customers had the chance to win 5,000 prizes ranging from Beats™ Solo™ headphones to HTC One S phones, burger and juice vouchers and five minute makeovers via TapIt technology embedded in their wristbands. The technology enabled Virgin Mobile to deliver prizes by gender using Facebook integration and posted alerts to their social media channels to make their friends at home green with envy.

The 2012 partnership saw Virgin Mobile work collaboratively with the festival organisers on the Splendour mobile app, with 13,116 punters downloading it over the course of the festival. This year Virgin Mobile added push notifications to the app, which kept festival-goers informed of special events and offerings throughout the festival.

Performance and interview highlights from the Virgin Mobile Live Stream can still be viewed at its YouTube channel (YouTube.com/VirginMobileAus).

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Agency Credits
Live Stream Production: Golden Duck
Sponsorship Activation: Sound Alliance

Notes to Editors:
Dedicated to enhancing the overall experience for those at the festival, Virgin Mobile hosted a range of customer benefits to Virgin Mobile customers attending Splendour in the Grass 2012.

Virgin Mobile festival benefits in 2012 included:

• The opportunity for festivalgoers to pull over and revive in style and comfort at Virgin Mobile's Star Treatment Stop. The Star Treatment Stop (stylish pit-stops), which was located en-route from Sydney to Bryon Bay, offered drivers and their mates free coffees, massages, comfy beanbags and chilled DJs tunes for a refresh with a difference.
• Access to the Posh Pit fancy bathroom (clean and fresh – oh the joy!) plus 5 minute makeovers to keep punters looking and feeling like a star throughout the festival
• Fast Lane express bar queue - Virgin Mobile thinks it's only fair that customers spend more time watching bands, and less time queuing at the bar
• Power Point Recharge Station – Running out of juice on your mobile? Can't send that last photo of you in the mosh pit to make all your friends jealous? Virgin Mobile had punters covered with the recharge station
• Bandstand daily prizes – These babies were the key to fun times at Splendour from food vouchers to phones there's was a whole lot of love to give. Customers simply tapped their wristband throughout the festival to see what they had won
• The chance to win tickets to the exclusive Channel V party: 50 Virgin Mobile customers and their friends won access to the VIP section at the Channel V Party at the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay on Saturday the 28th July where they were treated to a recovery breakfast, drinks and great tunes from the likes of Alison Wonderland and even a surprise interview from none other than the Smashing Pumpkin's Billy Corgan.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole – One Green Bean – 02 8020 1804 – Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile – 0403 999 821 - Amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au

Virgin Mobile & Music
As a Virgin company, music is a part of our heritage and our brand DNA. Since we launched 11 years ago, Virgin Mobile Australia has been a key player in the music scene undertaking initiatives to enrich the music experience for our customers.

We've been a major sponsor of Splendour in the Grass festival since 2010, offering customers a host of benefits to enhance their festival experience. We also brought music to the masses as the first brand to live web-stream from an Australian music festival, broadcasting Temper Trap's set from Splendour in the Grass 2010. We then gave you Australia's longest-ever festival live web-stream from St Jerome's Laneway Festival in 2011.

In 2012 we are also excited to be sponsoring music legend George Michael's national tour later this year. Stay tuned for more music news from us at www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus.

~ Cele-bro-ty, Doug Pitt wants you in his entourage when he hits Aussie shores as the official face of Virgin Mobile’s Fair Go Bro campaign ~

www.FairGoBro.com.au

Sydney, 23rd July 2012 - Virgin Mobile today announced it will bring the world's newest celebrity, Doug Pitt, to Australia for its Fair Go Bro campaign and will give five lucky Australians the chance to join Doug's entourage for the Sydney leg of his Aussie tour.

There has been a wave of national support for Doug since the Fair Go Bro movement launched two weeks ago with a documentary-style viral video that has since received more than 1.4 million YouTube views. The video shows Doug going about his ordinary, suburban life and encourages Aussies to show Doug some 'like' and give the second most famous Pitt a 'fair go' - with his first celebrity endorsement. Since then, Doug has received more than 13,000 'likes' from fans on FairGoBro.com.au, shooting him into cele-bro-ty status.

Doug is set to get a taste of the good life – celebrity style - when he arrives in Australia for the first time on August 21st for his Virgin Mobile endorsement tour. Visiting Sydney and Melbourne, Doug will have a typically A-list itinerary incorporating media interviews, public appearances, long lunches, sightseeing and red carpet events.

Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: "We have been amazed at how Aussies have rallied behind Doug Pitt and shown they are keen to give him a 'fair go' as a celebrity. With such an overwhelmingly positive response, what else could we do but give Doug a chance to enjoy his newfound star status with supporters in Australia who have shown him so much 'like'."

"Now that we have well and truly made him a celebrity the next step is to find him an entourage and for this we need Australians to help. We think it's only fair that we give the people who made Doug a star the opportunity to join him on his first endorsement tour. Head to FairGoBro.com.au to nominate you and your mates to join Doug’s entourage and the chance to win a taste of how the A-list roll."

From Monday 23rd July – Wednesday 8th August, Aussies can nominate themselves and four friends to be Doug's ultimate entourage: The Wingman, Fast Talker, The Networker, The Driver and The Chef. The Entourage will join Doug for part of his Australian visit, enjoying a 5-star lifestyle and sharing the celebrity experience at various events.

Commenting on his new celebrity status and the success of the campaign to date, Doug Pitt said, "It's a little surreal but I'm absolutely thrilled with the response! Aussies have really gotten behind me and given me a fair go, so I'm looking forward to heading down under in August and getting a chance to say thanks!"

Head to FairGoBro.com.au to nominate you and your mates to join Doug's entourage and follow Doug's journey.

~ ENDS ~

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole – One Green Bean – 02 8020 1804 – Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile – 0403 999 821 - Amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

- Virgin Mobile to stream headline acts from Splendour in the Grass -

Kimbra, Miike Snow, Ladyhawke, Cast of Cheers, Band of Skulls, Bleeding Knees Club, Last Dinosaurs and more

Sydney, 20 July 2012 - Splendour in the Grass sold out quicker this year than you could say “Splendour Bender Weekend Extender”, and knowing that there are more disappointed people that missed out on tickets than ever before, Virgin Mobile today announces that it will once again be delivering a live stream of the festival. Continuing its commitment to dish out even more content for music loving Aussies, Virgin Mobile has announced a stellar line up expanding the live stream to a whopping 8 hours of exclusive content direct from field phone.

Following on from last year’s success where over 46,650 music fans tuned in to be part of the action, Virgin Mobile will be streaming performances from the likes of Kimbra and Miike Snow directly from the Mixup and Supertop stages at Splendour in the Grass 2012, on Saturday 28th from 3pm.

The exclusive Virgin Mobile Live Stream 2012 will bring non-festival goers uninterrupted live access to the festival’s gigs with a mix of live and pre-recorded performances and backstage artist interviews, bringing ‘music to the masses’ via its YouTube channel (YouTube.com/VirginMobileAus) and the official Splendour in the Grass app.

Those on the move won’t miss a beat this year. Thanks to Virgin Mobile, music lovers can experience the live stream on mobile devices via the free Splendour in the Grass app – available for Android and iPhone. Furthermore, the Virgin Mobile Facebook page and website will be regularly updated with all the latest Splendour in the Grass news.

Virgin Mobile’s Marketing Director, David Scribner, said, “We’re really excited to once again be offering this exclusive access to fans and music lovers who can’t make it to the festival. We have been pioneers in live-streaming ever since we first live-streamed the Temper Trap in 2010 and are proud to once again be offering viewers a real feel for this year’s festival with an excellent collection of music and behind-the-scenes interviews streamed directly from the festival to wherever you are.”

In its third year of sponsorship, Virgin Mobile will for the first time extend its activations beyond the festival grounds, offering festivalgoers the chance to pull over and revive in style and comfort at Virgin Mobile’s Star Treatment Stop. The Star Treatment Stop (stylish pit-stops), located at 171 Pacific Highway Broadwater, en-route from Sydney to Bryon Bay, will offer drivers and their mates free coffees, massages, comfy beanbags and chilled DJs tunes for a refresh with a difference.

Dedicated to enhancing the overall experience for those at the festival, Virgin Mobile will offer a host of customer benefits to Virgin Mobile customers attending Splendour in the Grass 2012. Customers will be asked to register before the festival for them and a plus one via a Facebook app and when they get onsite the can pick up their Near Field Communications (NFC) wristband. Virgin Mobile festival benefits include:

• Access to the Posh Pit fancy bathroom (clean and fresh – oh the joy!) plus 5 minute makeovers to keep punters looking and feeling like a star throughout the festival
• Fast Lane express bar queue - Virgin Mobile thinks it’s only fair that customers spend more time watching bands, and less time queuing at the bar
• Power Point Recharge Station – Running out of juice on your mobile? Can’t send that last photo of you in the mosh pit to make all your friends jealous? Virgin Mobile have you covered with the recharge station
• Bandstand daily prizes – These babies are your key to fun times at Splendour from food vouchers to phones there’s a whole lot of love to give. Customer simply tap their wristband throughout the festival to see what they have won
• The chance to win tickets to the exclusive Channel V party: 50 Virgin Mobile customers and their friends will win access to the VIP section at the Channel V Party at the Beach Hotel in Byron Bay on Saturday the 28th July where they will be treated to a recovery breakfast, drinks and great tunes from the likes of Alice Wonderland and other Splendour artists. Another 100 Virgin Mobile customers will win access to the party and two drinks tokens.

For more information on the Virgin Mobile live stream and festival benefits for Virgin Mobile customers visit: http://www.virginmobile.com.au/splendour-in-the-grass/

~ ENDS ~

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole – One Green Bean – 02 8020 1804 – Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile – 0403 999 821 - Amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au

Virgin Mobile & Music
As a Virgin company, music is a part of our heritage and our brand DNA. Since we launched 11 years ago, Virgin Mobile Australia has been a key player in the music scene undertaking initiatives to enrich the music experience for our customers.

We’ve been a major sponsor of Splendour in the Grass festival since 2010, offering customers a host of benefits to enhance their festival experience. We also brought music to the masses as the first brand to live web-stream from an Australian music festival, broadcasting Temper Trap’s set from Splendour in the Grass 2010. We then gave you Australia’s longest-ever festival live web-stream from St Jerome’s Laneway Festival in 2011.

In 2012 we are also excited to be sponsoring music legend George Michael’s national tour later this year. Stay tuned for more music news from us at www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

~ Doug Pitt stars in series of amusing TVCs as the official face of Virgin Mobile campaign ~

Sydney, 13 July 2012: Following the success of the first phase of Virgin Mobile’s Fair Go Bro campaign, the Telco today revealed the first above-the-line (ATL) creative, unveiling a series of TVCs featuring celebrity bro Doug Pitt as the face of the campaign.

The ATL campaign kicks off this Sunday 15th July with a 30-second TVC that officially introduces Doug Pitt as the face of the brand campaign and invites people to follow him at FairGoBro.com.au. The 30-second ad, which will appear on Channel 7, 10 and subscription TV, shows Doug at home and going about his ordinary, suburban life. It features a number of scenes from the now-familiar documentary-style viral video about Doug that has already received more than 1.3 million YouTube views and global media attention since it was released just over a week ago on FairGoBro.com.au.

The 30-second ad will be followed by a series of tongue-in-cheek 15-second TVCs that use Doug’s position as the ‘second most famous Pitt in his family’ to highlight Virgin Mobile’s product proof points. One of the 15-second spots, promoting Virgin Mobile’s Credit Rollover offering, features Doug lying in bed and delivering the line: “Hi I’m Doug Pitt. I might not rollover to a famous actress every morning, but I do rollover my unused mobile credit every month.”

The social-by-design Fair Go Bro campaign launched online on 2nd July 2012, centring around the website www.FairGoBro.com.au, where consumers are encouraged to ‘show Doug some like’ and view the documentary-style teaser about Doug Pitt. In the campaign’s first week, Doug received more than 10,000 ‘likes’ and the video documentary went viral.

Commenting on the success of the campaign, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: “We wanted consumers to engage with the campaign and actively give Doug a ‘fair go’ before we introduced the ATL component and we’ve been overwhelmed by the positive response from consumers and media internationally. The success of the campaign so far really illustrates the value of a social-by-design campaign in a forever evolving marketing landscape.”

"We want to communicate our Fair Go For All proposition in a uniquely Virgin way that will deliver humour and create positive conversation and the feedback so far is that we’ve definitely hit the mark! The really exciting thing is that there is so much more to come and we’re confident people will continue to embrace the campaign as it rolls out over the next few months. Keep an eye on FairGoBro.com.au to watch the campaign unfold.”

Alongside the TVCs launching this weekend, a comprehensive multi-channel campaign comprising of magazines, online, radio, Out-Of-Home and transit media will roll out nationally from Monday. Online and on-mobile, rich media banners and pre-rolls will feature the 15-second TVCs. Streaming MRECs on popular entertainment sites will feature the 30-second TVC. A national partnership with Nova will see integrated station promos and a national evening sponsorship of Smallzy’s Surgery including in-show credits and placements.

The campaign website will continue to be at the core of the campaign featuring all campaign related content including the TVCs and will be the hub for a large digital promotion launching 23rd July.

Commenting on his new celebrity status and the success of the campaign to date, Doug Pitt said, “It’s a little surreal but I’m absolutely thrilled with the response!”

Fair Go Bro sees Virgin Mobile rebelling against the standard celebrity endorsement. Instead, Virgin Mobile is giving a famous celebrity’s brother a fair go and is giving Doug Pitt a taste of the limelight with his first-ever celebrity endorsement. Head to www.FairGoBro.com.au to view the TVCs, show Doug some ‘like’ and be the first to find out what’s next.

~ ENDS ~

Agency credits:
Concept Creation: Euro RSCG & One Green Bean
ATL: Euro RSCG
PR: One Green Bean
Social Media: One Green Bean
Digital Design & Development: Future Büro
Media: Starcom
TV Production: The Glue Society (Matt Devine)

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

~ Virgin Mobile continues its commitment to keeping things simple for Australian consumers ~

Sydney, 2 July 2012: Continuing its mission to give Australians a fair go by making things simpler and offering more flexibility and control, Virgin Mobile today announced it has reduced its Postpaid plan portfolio from nine plans to just five. Offering some of the best value in Australia, Virgin Mobile's simplified suite of plans makes it even easier for Aussies to choose the best plan for their needs. And with any handset available on any plan, Virgin Mobile is giving consumers more choice than ever before.

Virgin Mobile's simplified portfolio still caters for those who want lots of flexible value for a low monthly rate as well as offering solutions for heavy data and SMS users. Once customers have chosen their plan and the handset of their choice, they will then have the option to add a data value add on to their plan, giving them the safety net they need to unlock their smartphone's potential, without worrying about excess data charges. Customers who sign up for a Postpaid plan and bring their own handset with them will receive an additional $10 off any one of the monthly plans on offer.

On top of boasting some of the best included value in Australia, customers still receive all the Virgin Mobile benefits that they've come to know and love including: unlimited mobile calls and text Virgin-to-Virgin, free voicemail in Oz, the ability to rollover unused mobile credit to the next month, international calls and text included and great coverage on the Optus network. Virgin Mobile has also recently reduced the excess data rate for Postpaid mobile customers to 20.5c/MB, one of the lowest rates in the market.

With over half of all Aussies now owning a smart phone¹, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner, said consumers are searching for simple plans that offer the best value for money.

"We're constantly listening to our customers and are focused on giving Australians a fair go by continuing to simplify the telco experience, offering flexibility and even more value. We think it's only fair that you are able to choose any handset on any plan - and only pay for what you need. We believe our simplified suite of plans delivers on this. Continuing to offer a fair and transparent service to our customers is at the core of our business model and these new plans really deliver on this," explains Scribner.

Today will also see Virgin Mobile launch its new brand campaign - 'Fair Go Bro'. An evolution of the 'A Fair Go For All' campaign launched last year, Fair Go Bro sees Virgin Mobile rebelling against the standard celebrity endorsement. In Virgin Mobile's latest campaign, a famous celebrity's brother is given a fair go, with Virgin Mobile offering Doug Pitt a taste of the life his brother has - his first ever celebrity endorsement. The Fair Go Bro campaign builds on Virgin Mobile's commitment to fairness and the existing philosophy of putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. Aussies can get involved at FairGoBro.com.au.

To see the full range of Virgin Mobile's new Postpaid mobile plans and T&C's go to http://www.virginmobile.com.au/monthly-mobile-plans/.

- ENDS -

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Lené Ferris | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1834 | Lene@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

Terms & Conditions

1. 24 month contract required. Leave any time, just pay all outstanding charges + balance of your handset, if any + $250 if you leave in the 1st 6 months.
2. Leave anytime, just pay all outstanding charges.
3. Plan credit applies to standard national & international (as indicated) calls, text & MMS & 1300 numbers (excluding VMA customer service) only. Standard charges apply if plan credit exceeded & for non-included call & messaging types.
4. Included data has 1-month expiry. Excess usage charged at 20.5c per MB, billed per KB. Plan credit cannot be used for data or content charges.
5. Text must originate in Oz & exclude texts to non-standard (225 BAL, satellite, premium & international) numbers, VMA customer service, satellite phones and commercial use. Fair Use Policy applies. Standard charges apply for non-included call and messaging types.

~ Aussies asked to show celebrity bro Doug Pitt some 'like' & help give him a fair go ~

www.FairGoBro.com.au

Sydney, 2 July 2012: Virgin Mobile today announced Brad Pitt's brother Doug Pitt as the new face of the brand and star of its campaign 'Fair Go Bro'.

Virgin Mobile doesn't think it's fair that celebrities get all the good stuff, so it is rebelling against the standard celebrity endorsement. Instead, Virgin Mobile is giving a famous celebrity's brother a fair go and will give Doug Pitt a taste of the limelight with his first-ever celebrity endorsement.

Commenting on the bold move, Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner said: "Unlike his famous brother, Doug's never been the star of anything. As believers in a fair go for all Virgin Mobile has decided to make things a little fairer in the Pitt family and we're asking Aussies to get behind Doug and show him some 'like' as FairGoBro.com.au."

Doug Pitt said, "Celebrities like my brother are always getting the good stuff. Unlike my brother I've never been the star of anything. Virgin Mobile doesn't think that was fair so they invited me to be the face of their new campaign. If Virgin Mobile can give me a fair go, they'll give you one too. It's amazing how a bit of fairness can make you feel like a star!"

People wanting their first glimpse of the second most famous Pitt can view a video, photos and Doug's bio at www.FairGoBro.com.au, show their support for him to get a fair go and monitor the nation's support on the Cele-Bro-Meter.

Visit www.FairGoBro.com.au to show Doug some 'like' and find out how you can share in the spotlight.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our customers first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with out innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million customers in Australia. And they're happy customers too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our customers also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come and join us!

Sydney, 3 April 2012: Entrepreneur and Virgin Group founder, Sir Richard Branson, singer/songwriter, Natalie Imbruglia, one of Australia's most recognised fashion labels, ksubi and Oasis support recipient, Dean Good have joined forces with Virgin Mobile to produce a range of limited edition mobile phone covers as part of Virgin Mobile's Covers for a Cause initiative. This year, Covers for a Cause will raise money andawareness for Oasis Youth Support Network Sydney, The Salvation Army's response to youth homelessness.

The Covers for a Cause collection consists of four unique cover designs for iPhone 4/4S, Samsung Galaxy S2 and Sony Ericsson Arc handsets designed in collaboration with Richard, Natalie, ksubi and Dean. Each design reflects the theme of ‘Dreams' and what this represents to them.

Oasis offers a place of safety and care, where through compassion and skillful intervention, disadvantaged and homeless young people find refuge, hope and are given opportunities to turn their lives around. One hundred per cent of the proceeds from the sale of each cover will go directly to support the Oasis Youth Support Network's Youth Connect Bus which provides facilities to help youths re-connect with their family and access employment information.

Commenting on the initiative, Sir Richard Branson says, "Virgin Mobile's Covers for a Cause reminds us all that the young people who find their way to Oasis are homeless, not helpless. If we make enough noise we can shine a light on this important issue and help put an end to youth homelessness. That's my dream." Oasis Director, Major Robbin Moulds AM says, "We are absolutely thrilled to be able to partner with Virgin Mobile Australia through this amazing fundraising initiative, with all proceeds going directly to support the cutting edge programs we provide to homeless young people every day of the year."

Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner says, "Right now, 32,000 Australians between 12 and 25 years of age do not have a place to call home. Virgin Mobile is on a mission to create awareness and generate community involvement to help solve this national issue and we are grateful to Richard, Natalie, ksubi and Dean for donating their time and creativity to helping us towards achieving this goal." The campaign will also coincide with Youth Homelessness Matters Day (April 18th), which aims to raise public awareness about youth homelessness and celebrate the resilience of young people who are at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness in Australia.

Virgin Mobile's Covers for a Cause covers will retail for $35 and be available to purchase from the 2nd of April 2012 in Virgin Mobile stores nationally and online via the Virgin Mobile Facebook page. For more information about the Virgin Mobile's Covers for a Cause initiative go to http://www.virginmobile.com.au/covers-for-a-cause/ and to find out more about ending youth homelessness visit endyouthhomelessness.com.au

~ ENDS ~

For more information, high res images or to arrange an interview, please call or email:

Virgin Mobile: Melissa Gompes: 02 9028 1970 | 0411 556 070 | Melissa.Gompes@virginmobile.com.au
One Green Bean: Lucinda Cole: 02 8020 1804 | 0411 122 150 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

Notes to Editors:

About Oasis
The Oasis Youth Support Network is the Salvation Army's response to youth homelessness in Sydney, providing access to more than 25 cutting edge youth support services and accommodation facilities for homeless and at-risk young people between 16 - 25 years of age. The mission of Oasis is to provide a place of safety and care, where through compassion and skilful intervention, troubled young people can find refuge and hope to achieve their dreams and potential.

About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile has been involved with the Oasis Youth Support Network for a number of years. In partnership with our not-for-profit Virgin Group foundation, Virgin Unite, we are committed to reversing the trend of youth homelessness in Australia.

Virgin Mobile is proud to be the carrier of choice for the Oasis Youth Support Network, supplying handsets and airtime to all full-time employees.

Virgin Mobile is the proud sponsor of the Oasis Street Connect bus; delivering technology to the streets of Sydney by providing homeless and at risk youths with access to laptop computers, wireless broadband connection and mobile phone access. Homeless youths can access this technology to send and receive emails, reconnect with family and friends and search for accommodation.

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

~ Virgin Mobile offers even more value with refreshed Mobile Broadband Plans ~

Sydney, 29 March 2012: More Aussies are enjoying the flexibility and plug-and-play convenience of mobile broadband than ever before. However, research shows 75%1 are dissatisfied with their current mobile broadband plan and are looking for better value.

Virgin Mobile Australia has listened closely and today announced it will continue on its mission to give Aussies a fair go by refreshing its suite of Postpaid Mobile Broadband plans, offering even more value than ever before.

Virgin Mobile’s new Mobile Broadband Postpaid plans, launching on April 2nd offer an increased data allowance on all plans starting from $19 per month. No matter which great value plan you choose, there are no excess data charges. And, as we charge per kilobyte, not per megabyte, you won’t have to pay for data you haven’t used.

“Aussies have been calling out for better value Mobile Broadband plans and we’re pleased to be able to deliver outstanding value and great coverage across Australia on the Open Network, as well as a host of other Virgin Mobile benefits,” said Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

To see a full range of Virgin Mobile’s refreshed Postpaid Mobile Broadband plans and T&C’s visit http://www.virginmobile.com.au/mobile-broadband-plans/.

Our new Postpaid Mobile Broadband Plans:

---

¹ Research conducted for Virgin Mobile Australia by Catalyst Consultancy & Research in May 2011 in which 696 new Mobile Broadband customers were surveyed.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Lené Ferris | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1834 | Lene@onegreenbean.com.au

Notes to Editors:

About Virgin Mobile
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our members (that’s our fancy words for customers) first for over 11 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service (and we’ve got the trophies in the pool room to prove it).

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than one million members in Australia. And they're happy members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now. Since 2010 we’ve also consistently been voted Best Mobile Phone Provider in the AFR Smart Investor annual SMILES survey. And because we use the Optus network, our coverage reliably reaches up to 97% of the population in Australia. That's 19 out of every 20 people in Oz!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

~ Virgin Mobile reveals the Christmas carols that make us cringe ~

Sydney, 15 December 2011: It would seem that one in three Aussies cringe at the sound of Mariah Carey's "All I want for Christmas is you" according to new research¹ from Virgin Mobile. The pop princess' tune topped the list of the most irritating Christmas carols of 2011.

Aussies named 'Santa Baby' (16%) the second most irritating carol, with 'I saw Mummy kissing Santa Claus' (15%) a close third. Other carols that drive Aussies up the wall, in order, are: 'Away in a Manger' (9%), 'Jingle Bell Rock' (7%), 'Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer' (5%).

The most annoying carols list follows the revelation that 36% of Aussies would prefer not to listen to Christmas carols whilst shopping, with one in every six (16.57%) saying that having to listen to Christmas carols is one of the most annoying things about Christmas shopping.

To relieve shoppers from Mariah's high pitch acapellas and help them hold on to their Christmas cheer when shopping, Virgin Mobile has launched Australia's first headphone loan program as a unique and cheeky way of helping Aussies avoid naff Christmas carols.

Available at selected Virgin Mobile stores in Westfield shopping centres, the headphone loan program allows shoppers to borrow a set of MP3 headphones pre-loaded with tunes from the Telco's free digital radio station 'Radio Free by Virgin Mobile' so they can shop free from naff Christmas carols.

"We've discovered a number of Christmas carols that drive people crazy, with Mariah Carey's tune topping the list and we wanted to provide relief to shoppers this festive season with our headphone loan program. Christmas shopping is supposed to be fun and festive, not stressful as it often is, so if you find carols cringeworthy, grab a pair of headphones and enjoy the carol-free sounds of Radio Free By Virgin Mobile," explains Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

The headphones feature up to two hours of the most popular songs around via Radio Free by Virgin Mobile. Radio Free by Virgin Mobile plays music 'for the people, by the people', letting listeners vote for their favourite music and then broadcasting the most popular songs.

The headphones on the loan program feature a set Radio Free by Virgin Mobile playlist, however the free digital radio station can be streamed live either online (www.radiofree.com.au) or on your mobile (via a free app for iPhone and Android). For more information on Radio Free by Virgin Mobile head to: http://www.radiofree.com.au/

Virgin Mobile wishes everyone a very merry Christmas (minus the naff carols)!

---

¹ The research was conducted online by Pure Profile in November 2011 with 1,000 Australians aged 18 and over. The data was weighted to the latest population estimates derived from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

~ ENDS ~

Notes to Editors:

 

The top ten most irritating carols:
1. All I want for Christmas – the Mariah Carey version	34.33%
2. Santa Baby	16.47%
3. I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus	14.98%
4. Away in a Manger	9.42%
5. Jingle Bell Rock	6.85%
6. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer	5.16%
7. Silent Night	4.86%
8. Santa Claus is coming to Town	4.56%
9. Jingle Bells	3.37%
10. Little Drummer Boy	> 1%

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

About Radio Free by Virgin Mobile Technology:
Radio Free by Virgin Mobile is built using dmg Radio Australia’s specially created user programmed radio (UPR) application.

About Virgin Mobile
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than one million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now, and picked up a swag of awards along the way. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome! For more information in Virgin Mobile, head to: www.virginmobile.com.au

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

 

 

 

~ Virgin Mobile launches Australia’s first headphone loan program to help shoppers avoid Christmas carol overload ~

Sydney, 12 December 2011: Instead of giving people a sense of nostalgia for their younger years, it appears that Christmas carols are driving many Aussie shoppers up the wall! New research released today by Virgin Mobile revealed that one in every three Aussies would prefer not to listen to Christmas carols whilst shopping, with one in every six (16.57%) saying that having to listen to Christmas carols is one of the most annoying things about Christmas shopping.

To relieve shoppers from Jingle Bells and help them hold on to their Christmas cheer when shopping, Virgin Mobile has launched Australia’s first headphone loan program as a unique and cheeky way of helping Aussies avoid naff Christmas carols.

Available at selected Virgin Mobile stores in Westfield shopping centres, the headphone loan program allows shoppers to borrow a set of MP3 headphones pre-loaded with tunes from the Telco's free digital radio station ‘Radio Free by Virgin Mobile’ so they can shop free from naff Christmas carols.

"Christmas shopping is supposed to be fun and festive but it can actually be quite stressful, so we wanted to do something for the one in three Aussies who have been driven up the wall by cringe-worthy carols playing in the shops since November!" explains Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

"Our headphone loan program is a tongue-in-cheek way to ensure that everyone can go about their shopping with a spring in their step and some great music in their ears for the rest of the festive season!"

The headphones feature up to two hours of the most popular songs around via Radio Free by Virgin Mobile. Radio Free by Virgin Mobile plays music 'for the people, by the people', letting listeners vote for their favourite music and then broadcasting the most popular songs.

The headphones on the loan program feature a set Radio Free by Virgin Mobile playlist, however the free digital radio station can be streamed live either online (www.radiofree.com.au) or on your mobile (via a free iPhone app). For more information on Radio Free by Virgin Mobile head to: http://www.radiofree.com.au/

Virgin Mobile wishes everyone a very merry Christmas (minus the naff carols)!

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

About Radio Free by Virgin Mobile Technology:
Radio Free by Virgin Mobile is built using dmg Radio Australia’s specially created user programmed radio (UPR) application.

About Virgin Mobile
Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than one million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now, and picked up a swag of awards along the way. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome! For more information in Virgin Mobile, head to: www.virginmobile.com.au

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

VIRGIN MOBILE TO GIVE AWAY 25 BIKES A WEEK FOR THREE WEEKS

Sydney, 28 November 2011 - Summer tis' now officially the season to be free from traffic thanks to Virgin Mobile’s new finders, keepers initiative ‘A Fair Ride For All’ which will see the brand giveaway 25 pushbikes a week for three weeks across the country on FairRide.com.au.

Virgin Mobile will be hide 75 premium bikes of various styles (Fixie, Racer, Mountain Bike, BMX, City etc.), ranging from $600 to $1,500 each, across Australia and then liberating them each day to the public - releasing information on where to find them via a finders-keepers initiative centralised on FairRide.com.au.

This revolutionary use of Facebook will see users ‘like’ a hunt for particular bike, which will then push a post onto their Facebook wall, as well as their friends’ newsfeeds. Further posts are pushed to the user’s wall as clues are released. Participants can also save a calendar event for each hunt to their calendar of choice to ensure they don’t miss out.

Become a modern day version of Sherlock Holmes by following Virgin Mobile’s clues. The first clue of the day will contain cryptic text hinting to the bike’s general whereabouts, along with that day’s code to open the bike’s lock. The second clue will feature a photo to help hone in on the bike’s location. The third and final clue will be a pin-point on a map. Once the participants receive their clues and are certain of the location of the bike, it is then up to them to get out in the real world and hunt it down. The first to find it and unlock it rides it home (with the helmet provided of course).

Bike lovers can also pick up tips from Twitter with daily hunt announcements and updates using the hashtag #FairRide to help followers track down the shiny new pushies. Get spinning!

For more information on the campaign, head to: FairRide.com.au.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our Members also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome!

~ No flag fall; Low flat rate for local and international mobile calls and texts; No contracts ~

Sydney, 1 November 2011: Life’s complicated enough these days without confusing mobile phone plans added to the mix. With so much small print and hidden charges in bills, it is no wonder Aussies are so confused when it comes to mobile phone plans! That’s why Virgin Mobile is proud to introduce the Simple Plan for both Prepaid and Postpaid customers

The Simple Plan offers two no-commitment options that are perfect for those who want an easy to understand plan with no hidden caps or rate plan complexities, made even simpler by the fact you can either bring your own phone and enjoy a no ties month to month contract or choose the Simple Prepaid recharge and enjoy a 90 day expiry.

With one flat per minute rate across calls and texts to a whopping 100 countries, both plans have no call connection fees, no contracts and no surprises but still all the fantastic perks that Virgin Mobile customers have become accustomed to: free voicemail, unlimited mobile calls and text Virgin to Virgin and freedom to rollover your unused plan credit to the following month.

With no commitment and no minimum contracts, the Simple Plans have a 15cent/min flat rate for calls and 15cent text messages and 100MB of data along with $19 worth of call credit. Certainly sounds simple!

"The feedback we have received is that Australians sometimes find the complexities of some rate plans confusing to understand and just want a simple plan that isn’t going to hurt their brain trying to work out how much they are going to be paying. We believe the Simple Plan provides exactly this. Continuing to offer a fair and transparent service to our members is at the core of our business model and these new plans really deliver what consumers have told us they want," explains Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

The Postpaid Simple Plan can also be bundled with Virgin Mobile’s Pick & Mix web-only options to give even better value with the option to add extra data, unlimited calls and/or unlimited text - or even add on a handset . For example, for an additional $10 a month, get up to 1GB of data by bundling the new Data Value packs.

Offer Summary: A simple plan for Postpaid or Prepaid customers with a low flat rate for local and international calls and texts, no connection charges and no contracts. For more information on the Simple Plans go to www.virginmobile.com.au/simpleplan

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

About Virgin Mobile

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than one million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now, and picked up a swag of awards along the way. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

~ Virgin Mobile puts control in the hands of consumers with its new Pick & Mix plans ~

Sydney, 4th October 2011: Flexibility, choice and simplicity may not be words that automatically come to mind when you think about Telcos, however Virgin Mobile, in their continued commitment to make things fairer in the Telco industry, today introduced a plan that offers consumers just that – the Virgin Mobile Pick & Mix plan.

With the new Pick & Mix plan, Virgin Mobile offers its consumers the option to tailor the perfect plan to suit their lifestyle and needs and only pay for these elements.

Pick & Mix consists of a $19 a month base plan, which includes $19 credit and 100MB of data. After that control is entirely in the hands of the consumer as they pick and mix a number of options to build an individual plan for them, with each component offering clear and simple pricing. If texting is their thing, they would opt for the unlimited SMS option for an extra $10 per month. If they are big talkers they can add unlimited voice for $30 per month. Or if surfing the web floats their boat, Virgin Mobile has the data plan that will fulfill every need. The total of the components then becomes the customer’s plan.

And the choice and flexibility doesn’t end there. With Pick & Mix there is the option to change your plan as your needs may change, so if consumers know that one month their mobile use is going to be particularly SMS heavy and the next very Voice heavy, they can amend their bundles to suit how they plan to use their phone.

“Our ‘Pick & Mix’ plans continue to build on our existing philosophy of putting the member at the heart of everything. We acknowledge that our members are all individuals with individual needs, so the beauty of our new Pick & Mix plan is that they can pick and choose what they want, and change it from month to month as they require. Continuing to offer a fair and transparent service to our members is at the core of our business model and this new plan really delivers what consumers have told us they want – choice," explains Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

The new Pick & Mix plans are based on five key principles: great value, simplicity, control, transparency and the choice of a great handset. They are available exclusively from Virgin Mobile’s website – check out www.virginmobile.com.au/pickandmix for more information and full Ts&Cs.

 

The Pick & Mix plan:

Component	Per month
Base Plan	$19 (Includes $19 credit & 100MB data. 15c p/min Call,,15c SMS & 0c Flag fall)
Unlimited SMS	$10
Unlimited Voice	$30
500MB data	$5
2GB data	$10
4GB	$20

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

About Virgin Mobile

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than one million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now, and picked up a swag of awards along the way. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/VirginMobileAus or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

 

~ Virgin Mobile calls for a Voicemail Fee Amnesty ~

Sydney, 19th September 2011 - Australian mobile phone companies are raking in a hefty $385 million in revenue each year by charging consumers inflated Voicemail retrieval fees and consumers are none the wiser, according to new researchi commissioned by Virgin Mobile.

The simple act of retrieving a voicemail message sees what consumers consider to be Telco 'Pirates' pocket a shipload of silver and gold, with the average Australian mobile user with voicemail spending $33 of credit on voicemail each month. Yet despite spending 9% of their cap credit on voicemail, three out of four Aussies (74%) have no idea what they are paying to listen to messages.

According to the national survey of over 1,000 people, almost everyone (97%) believes it should be free to retrieve their voicemail on their mobile phone.

In recognition of International Talk Like a Pirate Day today and to call out Telco Pirates Australia wide, Virgin Mobile has released the findings of the Virgin Mobile Voicemail Pirates research and is calling a Voicemail fee amnesty - urging all Telcos to stop charging voicemail fees.

“Our research shows that nine out of ten (89%) Australians think phone companies that charge to retrieve voicemail are ‘pirates’ and yet many of them are being charged up to $1.36ii per voicemail message!” said Virgin Mobile’s Marketing Director, David Scribner.

“At Virgin Mobile, we provide all our customers with free voicemail and always have. They can check their voicemails anywhere, anytime without worrying about the cost. If we can afford to offer these services for free, then the other Aussie providers can certainly do the same! I am urging all other Telcos to drop their excessive voicemail fees and free Australian consumers from the burden of unnecessary voicemail charges. After all, why should you pay to call yourself?”

Many Aussie mobile users face confusing voicemail fee structures, which combine a flag-fall with per-30 or per-60 second call rates. Virgin Mobile remains the ONLY Telco in the lands to not charge for voicemail regardless of the plan. Not a zip, not a shilling, not a penny! Arrrrrggghhhh that’s a good deal!

“We have demystified and streamlined our mobile caps and plans to ensure that along with receiving maximum value, our customers know exactly what they are paying for – and what they get for free, like Voicemail. This allows each customer to spend their mobile budget on more of what they want from their mobile phone, and less on unwanted or unneeded fees,” said David.

To find out more about Virgin Mobile’s plan options go to http://www.virginmobile.com.au/mobilephone- plans/.

The survey also found:

• Only 12% of Australians know the cost of their voicemail (a further 14% know that it is free)
• In total, 85% of Australians use some type of missed call service. This includes voicemail where the phone user calls to retrieve a message (59%) and voicemail where the voicemail service calls the phone user (7%). Some mobile users also have missed call service where their phone records the missed call number (39%) or they receive a text message with the missed call number (21%).
• Those with voicemail say they receive an average of 1.6 voicemails per day.
• The average mobile user leaves 1.2 voicemails per day on someone else’s mobile phone.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

- Virgin Mobile committed to bringing fairness back to telcos -

Sydney, 5 July 2011:Almost nine out of ten (89%) Australians consider being given ‘a fair go’ to be part of Australia’s DNA, yet the majority believe they increasingly aren’t getting a fair go from key Australian service providers including telcos, banks and electricity companies, according to researchⁱ released today by Virgin Mobile. Going against the grain, Virgin Mobile, already rated number one for member satisfactionⁱⁱ, plans to bring fairness back to the people and has announced a new initiative aimed at providing ‘A Fair Go For All’.

The nationwide survey of more than 1,000 Aussie mobile users revealed that attitudes towards the telecommunications industry rated particularly poorly, with nearly two thirds (62%) of Australians out there believing their telco is likely to treat them unfairly. In fact, most Aussies think they are more likely to be treated unfairly by their mobile phone provider than by a parking ranger (57%); their bank (54%) or the tax man (49%).

Throwing down the gauntlet to its competitors, Virgin Mobile’s A Fair Go For All campaign will see the telco launch a range of initiatives over the next several months to make things simpler for consumers, and giving the member more flexibility and control. “We’ve taken a long hard look at ourselves and the industry in Australia. Having researched 5,000 members and consumers over the past few months, we’ve identified the key pain points,” said Virgin Mobile Marketing Director, David Scribner.

“Kicking off with the launch of two new, simpler sets of plans today, we intend to revisit the way we do things, from product offerings through to contractual arrangements and member service channels.”

Most Australians (in fact a whopping 93%) surveyed agreed that telcos need to simplify plans so that they are easier to understand and compare with competitors. In response to this Virgin Mobile has reduced the number of its mobile phone plans from 19 to just nine. The two new sets of plans – the ‘Big Plan’ and the ‘Fair Go Plan’ - provide clear options and some of the biggest value in Australia.

Virgin Mobile’s new plans:

According to the research, one of the main reasons people think telcos are unfair is not being able not being able to rollover unused cap credit (84%). “We believe it’s only fair that you should get what you pay for so Virgin Mobile remains the only Australian telco to offer free voicemail and the ability to rollover any unused creditⁱⁱⁱ to the following month,” said David.

“Our ‘A Fair Go For All’ initiative builds on our existing Virgin philosophy of putting the member at the heart of everything. Bringing fairness back to the people in this industry will be a long journey and we acknowledge that we are just at the start, but we are committed to righting telco wrongs and excited by what lays ahead.”

In a further bid to make its members lives simpler and easier, Virgin Mobile has recently expanded its retail footprint, with over 64 stores and kiosks now available to its 1 million+ members, and several more scheduled to open in the coming months.

Virgin Mobile also offers unlimited calls and text Virgin to Virgin and well as a host of member benefits including 10% credit back on Virgin Australia flights and VIP access to gigs and festivals.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Lucinda Cole | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1804 | Lucinda@onegreenbean.com.au
Jess Makin | One Green Bean | Phone: 02 8020 1806 | Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

About Virgin Mobile

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now, and picked up a swag of awards along the way. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome!

Get personal with us @ www.facebook.com/memberslounge or www.twitter.com/virginmobileaus

ⁱ The survey was conducted online by Lonergan Research in June 2011. The panel consisted of 1,209 people from around Australia. The data has been weighted to reflect current ABS population statistics
ⁱⁱ Roy Morgan, June 2011
ⁱⁱⁱ Prepaid - you must recharge to the same voucher type before your credit runs out in order to roll over unused credit. Postpaid - Any unused included credit rolls over to following month only and is used once the following month’s credit is exhausted. Data does not roll over.

~ YouTube Partnership Brings the Festival to you ~

Sydney, 26th May 2011 – Virgin Mobile has announced its sponsorship once again of Splendour in the Grass 2011, promising to bring even more festival splendour to punters in its second year partnering with the prestigious music event. Following its successful live stream of Temper Trap’s set in 2010 that was viewed live by more than 13,000 people (and over 10,000 after the event), Virgin Mobile intend on expanding the number of acts featured this year and partnering with YouTube to ensure a wider reach. Virgin Mobile will stream several hours of festival fun from Splendour in the Grass 2011 – a mix of live and pre-recorded performances, band interviews and more. Virgin Mobile, who earlier this year streamed live from St Jerome’s Laneways Festival to an audience of 20,000 on YouTube (and another whopping 100,000 views since then), is still the only brand in Australian history to offer a live stream from an Australian music festival. Virgin Mobile will be hosting a number of stream parties around the country so those too far away to travel can get on board with all the Splendour fun.

Virgin Mobile’s Experiential Marketing Manager, Dave Cain, said, “The live stream is a unique opportunity for us to extend the reach of our sponsorship beyond Woodford by bringing the Splendour in the Grass festival experience to the masses in a branded environment. Viewers will get a real feel for this year’s festival with an awesome collection of music and behind-the scenes interviews spanning the three days.”

Dedicated to enhancing the overall experience for festival-goers, Virgin Mobile will also offer a host of VIP benefits to customers attending the festival including bathrooms that are cleaned more often known as 'The Posh Pit' (best seat in the house), an express bar queue (The Fast Lane) and a meal per day (in the form of a $10 voucher). All Virgin Mobile customers will receive a free recyclable mobile phone battery charger ensuring they can keep in touch with friends and family while they are there. The telco will also host The Power Point, a branded destination selling recyclable mobile phone battery chargers and Pre-Paid credit for Virgin Mobile customers.

For those that missed out on the hottest festival ticket around, a Facebook competition – now live on Virgin Mobile’s recently re-launched Facebook page www.Facebook.com/VirginMobileAus - will see six lucky people win a double pass to the festival including camping, flights and transfers – and the Virgin Mobile VIP experience. To win consumers will need to upload a photo of what they would give to go to Splendour in the Grass 2011.

Cain said, "Music continues to be a key pillar for the Virgin Mobile brand. We remain committed to enhancing the festival experience for consumers through the provision of VIP customer benefits and extending the festival experience to those at home through the live stream. Stay tuned for more exciting Splendour news over the next few weeks."

~ ENDS ~

For more information please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – 02 9699 9503 – jess@onegreenbean.com.au
Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile – 0403 999 821 – amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Here at Virgin Mobile, we've been putting our Members first for over 10 years. Ever since Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco market in the early noughties, we've been making a splash with our innovative products, cheeky ad campaigns and world-class customer service.

We've certainly come a long way from the early days when each new connection meant a little bell rang in the call centre, to proudly having more than 1 million Members in Australia. And they're happy Members too: we've been rated the No 1 telco for Customer Satisfaction for some time now.

We think a telco relationship should be rewarding so our Members also receive a host of benefits including Virgin Family perks, exclusive discounts and VIP access to gigs and music festivals. And because we use the Optus network it means that up to 97% of the population in Oz can get a clear Virgin Mobile signal. So come on in, more Members are always welcome!

~ Virgin Mobile declares Feb 15 ‘Break-Up Day’ encouraging people to do the ‘Switcheroo’ ~

Sydney, 15 February 2011 – Almost half the nationⁱ (48%) wish they could have a pain free break-up with their current mobile phone provider, according to new researchⁱⁱ released today by Virgin Mobile.

The research revealed that a staggering 49% of Australians who own a mobile phone are dissatisfied with their provider, with one in four citing poor mobile coverage as the cause. Other reasons Aussies are unhappy with their telcos are that calls drop out (18%), they don’t get good value for money (17%) and substandard customer service (16%).

Despite wanting to leave their telco, 56% of Australians feel it’s too difficult to switch providers, mainly because it’s too hard to get out of their contract (30%), too expensive (26%), they are worried about losing their number (20%) or they don’t know how to go about it (10%).

Recognising the desire by so many to switch telcos, Virgin Mobile has declared February 15^th 2011 ‘Break-Up Day’ and is encouraging people who are dissatisfied to do the ‘Switcheroo’ to Virgin Mobile.

“ You wouldn’t stay in a relationship that you were unhappy with, so why stay with your Telco if they’re not treating you right. If you are unhappy with your current provider, we think you should tell them it’s over! What better day to do it than Break-Up Day?” said Dan Woodall, Head of Customer Marketing Virgin Mobile.

“Virgin Mobile makes it easy to break-up by offering its customers a bigger package than most with its Big Cap 29, up to 97% population coverage and award winning customer service – not to mention a host of benefits like exclusive offers, Virgin family discounts and VIP gig access. A lot of Australians don’t realise how easy it is to switch providers and this year we are encouraging anyone who is unhappy to look around and see what else is available.”

Woodall continued, “In less than 24 hours you could be out of an unhappy relationship, and into a brand new phomance with someone who really cares. And just remember that if you are attached (to your number that is) we make it easy to keep your number.”

To make breaking-up even easier, Virgin Mobile is giving $100 credit to anyone who brings their own phoneⁱⁱⁱ and does the Switcheroo to Virgin Mobile before the end of March 2011.

Recognising that women are more likely than men to find it difficult to break-up with their provider (59% Vs 52%), Virgin Mobile will also have a team of hunky Break-Up Boys in Martin Place tomorrow, to make breaking up even easier, and hold the hand of anyone who needs support with breaking the news to their current telco and telling them “it’s over”.

The eye catching Break-Up Boys will hand out break-up kits on the morning of Break-Up Day with chocolates and step-by-step instructions on how to have a pain free break-up with your current provider.

More information on how to do the Switcheroo to Virgin Mobile is available at www.VirginMobile.com.au/switcheroo.

~ ENDS ~

For more information please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – 02 8020 1806 – jess@onegreenbean.com.au
Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile – 0403 999 821 – amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au

Notes to Editors:

Virgin Mobile is proud to offer consumers a bigger package on the Big Cap 29. For less than $1 a day consumers receive $450 of call and text credit, 200MB of data, free voicemail, unlimited talk and text to other Virgin Mobile customers and host of benefits and exclusive offers through www.MembersLounge.com.au.

 

The Big Cap 29 is available on a 24-month plan (min total cost $696) or on a month-tomonth plan when consumers bring their own phone.

ⁱ Australian’s who own a mobile phone
ⁱⁱ The survey was conducted online by Pure Profile from 8-9 February. The panel consisted of 1,209 people from around Australia. The data has been weighted to reflect current ABS population statistics
ⁱⁱⁱ Go to www.VirginMobile.com.au/switcheroo for full terms and conditions

Sydney, 26th May 2010 – Virgin Mobile today announced the appointment of Publicis Mojo as its lead integration agency. As lead integration agency, Publicis Mojo will work across key Virgin Mobile marketing functions including brand, acquisition, customer relationship marketing and channel. They will also play a significant role in the coordination of other specialist marketing agencies, thereby ensuring consistency of strategy and message. The new appointment will see Publicis Mojo work across a variety of both traditional and non-traditional media.

“After conducting a comprehensive formal review, we are delighted to have selected Publicis Mojo as our lead integration agency,” said Anthony Hearne, Virgin Mobile Australia Marketing Director. “We selected Publicis Mojo primarily because we felt they had excellent strategic insight which will enhance our existing marketing strategy and help us build upon the “Members Welcome” brand platform we launched last year.”

“Publicis Mojo also demonstrated to us a genuine understanding of our business and the dynamic telco industry. Their innovative thinking and fresh approach to our business will be instrumental in helping us continue delighting our members and presenting folks with credible alternative to the bigger guys in the telco market.”

Craig Davis, Co-Chairman & Executive Creative Director, Publicis Mojo said: "From day one, our values, philosophies and strategies aligned. At Mojo we believe that creativity powers progress; the Virgin Mobile team are smart, dynamic people with an infectious enthusiasm for creative solutions that will drive their business forward, and quickly. It's a happy partnership that's full of potential."

The appointment of Publicis Mojo follows an extensive review of agencies across the market.

Publicis Mojo and Virgin Mobile have officially begun working together from May 2010; with significant brand, research and campaign work already underway.

In other Virgin Mobile news, current Head of Brand, Jaclyn Lee-Joe, will be leaving Virgin Mobile for several months on maternity leave from early June. Rob Nolan, currently Head of Relationship Marketing, will take on Jaclyn’s responsibilities in her absence. Rob will be promoted to the newly created position of Head of Brand and Relationship Marketing, incorporating all brand, retention and customer marketing activities. This appointment will continue the great work at putting our members at the heart of our business to deliver a different telco experience.

~ ENDS ~

For more information please contact:

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

Virgin Mobile releases a guide to demystify mobile data

Sydney, 20 May 2010 – Mobile Internet use is increasingly becoming more and more mainstream, with recent Neilson Research showing nearly one in three mobile users is already accessing the internet from their phone.

However, according to new research commissioned by Virgin Mobile most Australians who are using the internet on their phone don’t really understand mobile data. The survey of more than 1,000 people revealed that nine out of ten Aussies using Mobile Internet don’t actually know how much data is required for the activities they are enjoying online, such as Facebook, Twitter or GPS access.

“The fact is that a little bit of mobile data can go a long way but the key is understanding how much data you need, ensuring you have the right data plan and being aware of the danger zones so you can avoid them,” said Anthony Hearne, Marketing Director of Virgin Mobile Australia.

“Our research shows that 60% of mobile users want to start using Mobile Internet more, so Virgin Mobile has created a guide to demystify mobile data and help people choose the best data plan. From now until the end of June, we are offering our customers a ‘surprise’ 1GB of data so they can explore and enjoy the internet on their phone – that will allow you to send about 200,000 emails or update your status on Facebook 546,000 times.”

Mobile Internet is still a relatively new capability and despite the rapid uptake (40% of those who use it only started doing so in the last six months) there are still a lot of people who don’t understand or trust it.

Even amongst those who do use mobile data, many are cautious in their use for fear of ‘bill shock’. As a result three quarters of mobile data users said they consciously limit online activity on their phone because they are worried about going over their data allowance. With the proper advice and appropriate plan, this doesn’t need to be a worry.

To help those who are wondering what mobile data is all about, are unsure how to get the best value or are nervous about going over their chosen data allowance Virgin Mobile has created The Mobile Data Guide. The following guide has all the key things you need to know about using the internet on your phone and choosing the right data plan.

The Mobile Data Guide

Virgin Mobile’s guide to understanding Mobile Internet and choosing a data plan

Part one – understanding Mobile Internet:

What is Mobile Internet?

It's just like the Internet on your computer except you can access it on your phone, so the only big difference is the size of the screen and the fact that you can use it on the go.

How do I access Mobile Internet?

You need a 2G or 3G phone (a 3G handset is faster for browsing than a 2G) to access the internet and Virgin Mobile strongly recommends you get a data plan before going online on your phone, in order to take get the best value and avoid paying a premium unnecessarily.

How is data measured?

Mobile data is measured in kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB).

1,024 KB = 1 MB

1,024 MB = 1 GB

How do I know how much data things use?

Most things that people do online use very little data. To give you an idea of how much (or little) data is required to do things online on your phone Virgin Mobile has looked at some of the things you can do with 1GB:

• Send 200,000 emails
• Update your status 546,000 times on Facebook
• View Perez Hilton’s blog 245,000 times
• Post 536,870 tweets

The richer the content the more data it will use. So a high quality video will use a lot more data than a photo, which in turn will use more data than a simple text email or a status update. Feature films for example are approximately 750MB.

How big are applications?

Applications all vary in size and each application should tell you how big it is before you download it. As a safety net, your phone won’t let you use mobile data to download anything larger than 10MB and it will tell you to use a WiFi connection to download applications 10MB and above.

What’s the difference between downloading and uploading?

Downloading is what happens when you view, listen to or read things online. For example when you watch a video, open an attachment, visit a website or buy an application you are downloading.

Uploading is what happens when you add something to the internet from your phone. For example if you update your Facebook status, share a picture, add a video online or send an email you are uploading.

Most mobile phone carriers count uploading as well as downloading when calculating your data usage.

Are there hidden costs I should be worried about?

There are no hidden costs but it’s your responsibility to check your contract to see what your carrier charges you for uploading and downloading data. Data is usually competitively-priced if you have a data plan or a data allowance included in your plan. However if you have no data included in your plan or go over your limit that it can get expensive very quickly.

“Bill Shock” is becoming an increasingly used term but it’s really easy to avoid if you have the right data plan to suit your needs and monitor your usage (which is not as hard as it sounds!).

Part two - choosing a data plan:

Will I use my phone to surf the web?

Checking email, updating Facebook and tweeting on a phone is more popular than ever but if you plan to use your phone to browse the web, make sure you choose a plan with a data allowance to suit your needs. When choosing a data plan, think about the type of things you might want to do on your phone and how often you might want to do them.

From now until 30 June 2010, Virgin Mobile is giving all its new and existing Members a ‘surprise’ 1GB of bonus mobile data to explore and enjoy the internet from their phone in any way they choose. It gives Post-Paid mobile Members the opportunity to get a 1GB data plan for three months, a 1GB bonus with Your Cap recharges for Pre-Paid mobile, and a 1GB bonus on activation for new Pre-Paid Broadband Members.

This is a great opportunity for those curious about Mobile Internet to go nuts online and, at the same time, figure out how much data they use in a typical month.

How much data do I want to use on my mobile?

First of all, check if your mobile phone contract comes with a data allowance included. All Virgin Mobile’s latest Pre-Paid and Post-Paid Caps come with a Mobile Internet data allowance included.

If you plan to just check your email once or twice a day a 50MB data plan will probably work for you. If want to use the internet on your phone regularly go for a 300MB plan and if you like to be always connected you may want to go for a 1GB offer.

Don’t get sucked in to paying extra for more than 1GB on your phone unless you’re absolutely sure you need it. 1GB, given the current average persons monthly data usage, is a huge amount of data, and is mainly purchased by those using their phone as a “tethered modem”. A tethered modem is when you connect your phone to your computer, usually through W-Fi, and use your phone’s data allowance to upload and download on your computer.

Talk to your mobile phone provider about what you want to do on your phone and how long you might spend doing it. They should be able to recommend a plan that suits you.

What if I sign up for a data plan but love Mobile Internet so much I end up needing more?

Increase your data plan. Talk to your carrier about increasing your data plan – most should let you do this starting the following month for a minimal charge, or perhaps none at all.

How do I keep track of how much data I’m using?

To avoid any nasty shocks at the end of the month, ensure you choose a mobile phone provider with a tool to help you monitor your usage. Virgin Mobile’s Bill Preview helps you do just this.

Also, you can download an application that monitors your data usage so you can check where you are up to at any time during the month. These apps are available for all carriers and are usually only a couple of dollars to purchase. For example: http://www.shihab.com.au/mobileusage/

Whatever your Mobile Internet needs, Virgin Mobile strongly recommends that you shop around to compare data plans and charges. Spending a little bit of time thinking about the way you want to use the internet on your phone can mean huge savings in the long run!

~ENDS~

For more information please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – 02 8020 1806 – Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

More included value and flexibility

Sydney, 18th May 2010 – Virgin Mobile Australia has updated its Post-Paid Rollover Cap and Rollover Cap Plus plans with more included value, flexibility for customers and even more data now included on Caps of $79 and more.

The entire updated suite of plans include rollover talk and text, data allowances for all plans, International talk and text, unlimited mobile talk and text between Virgin Mobile Members, and free voicemail in Australia. Virgin Mobile Members also receive a host of other benefits including Virgin brand family offers such as 10% mobile credit back from Virgin Blue flights^a and VIP access to events.

“Our plans, from the $29 Rollover Cap upwards, now offer more included value than the other major telcos in market” said Anthony Hearne, Virgin Mobile Australia Marketing Director. “However we believe that ‘value’ goes beyond pure monetary savings and extends to the way we treat our Members, and providing them with more choice. That’s why flexibility and Member benefits are so important to us.”

Virgin Mobile is still the only Australian telco to offer Post-Paid Rollover Caps which allow customers to roll over any unused included talk & text into the following month^b. This helps Virgin Mobile Members get the best value from their cap plan.

Due to popularity of this offering, Virgin Mobile has now launched the ‘Rollover Value-Add’, a bolt-on enabling members who aren’t currently on a Rollover Cap plan to add the Rollover benefit to their existing cap plan for $4.95 per month. This can be added to Post-Paid Plans at any time throughout the contract^c .

For an extra $6 per month, Virgin Mobile’s Rollover Cap Plus plans have the same features as the standard Rollover Cap, but give consumers more mobile internet data to use per month with up to 1.5GB available.

The new Rollover Value Add option and the Rollover Cap Plus options reflect Virgin Mobile’s commitment to continue offering new and existing Members increased value and flexibility.

“Recognising that we are all unique and use phones differently, we are continuing to launch value-add and bolt-on features that allow users to build a phone plan that suits them. We are thrilled to continue offering great value plans to new and existing members”, said Anthony.

The updated plans are outlined as follows:

Full plan information can be found at: www.virginmobile.com.au/mobile-plans-pricing/monthly-plans/

~ ENDS ~

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – 02 9699 9503 – jess@onegreenbean.com.au

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

What is Virgin Mobile Australia all about?

Virgin Mobile Australia is a leading consumer-focused mobile and broadband provider. Our local telco adventure kicked off on in the early noughties when Sir Richard Branson saw an opportunity to stir up the Aussie telco industry.

Kicking off in October 2000 with a handful of staff and a whole lot of ambition, we immediately made an impact with fresh, innovative products and the trademark Virgin service. Some things never change.

From the beginning we've been partnered with Optus, using their network to give our Members the best coverage we possibly can, whilst maintaining our very unique Virgin way of doing things. As of right now, Virgin Mobile Australia can proudly boast of flagship retail outlets across the country, 1000s of partner outlets, fun-loving staff and over one million awesome Members. So here we are in 2010, celebrating our one millionth customer, gearing up for our 10th birthday and yet as ready as ever to kick off our shoes and join the fun. Come on in, Members are always welcome.

^a Offer ends 30th June 2010 and excludes Mobile Broadband and Broadband at Home customers. Offer applies only to base fare excluding GST and other charges. Standard Virgin Blue Terms and Conditions apply.

^b Any unused monthly included talk & text rolls over to the following month only and is used once the following month’s included talk & text is exhausted. Data does not rollover. ^c Min term of 30 days. First month will be pro-rated. Cancellation take effect from end of the current billing cycle.

1. 24 month connection required. Early cancellation fees apply.
2. included talk and text does not include all call types.

Sue Bailey appointed as new CEO and Michael Seymour as new CFO

Sydney, 12 April 2010 – Virgin Mobile today announced two changes to its senior leadership team. Firstly, Sue Bailey will take the reins as the new CEO of Virgin Mobile Australia, replacing current CEO, Peter Bithos. After two years as CEO, Peter is moving to head up the Consumer Division at SingTel’s associate joint venture in the Philippines, Globe Telecom.

A new adventure, professionally and personally, Peter and his family will relocate to Manila in May. Peter has been with Virgin Mobile for four years, including two as CEO, and led the company through integral years in its history. The company has just hit one million customers, achieved an award-winning level of customer service and has an expanded retail presence, both online and on-the-ground.

Sue has spent the last seven years with Virgin Mobile. Sue’s most recent position was Senior Vice President of Customer Proposition at Virgin Mobile USA with accountability for revenue, product management and development, customer retention, and device management. Prior to the US, Sue spent over four years in marketing at Virgin Mobile Australia, the last two years as Marketing Director.

"Sue is an astute marketing professional with a strong telecommunications background, and is a Virgin-person at heart," said Peter referring to Sue's experience. "Sue is excited to be reuniting with the Virgin Mobile Australia team and leading the business during what will continue to be a massive time of growth for the brand".

Secondly, Michael Seymour has been appointed as the new CFO. Michael has over 20 years of experience in senior commercial, finance and auditing positions. Most recently he held the position of CFO, then acting CEO, of Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Ltd, an affiliate of SingTel. Having been overseas for eight years, Michael is excited to be returning to Australia with his family.

"Michael brings 20 impressive years of experience in senior financial roles in Australia and South-East Asia," said Peter. "I am confident that Michael will be a great addition to the team and provide the financial guidance needed for one of Australia's fastest growing telecoms".

Both Sue and Michael will be joining Virgin Mobile Australia in April.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

Get 1GB of free data with Virgin Mobile until June 2010

Sydney, 29 March 2010 – To celebrate its Surprise Gig bonus data offer, Virgin Mobile today announced an exclusive ‘surprise gig’ with MGMT, to be held at the Virgin Mobile Metro in Sydney on 7th April.

MGMT’s scheduled concert on 6 April sold out within the hour but Virgin Mobile has secured the Grammy award nominees for a second ‘surprise’ show. Tickets will be given away with the online purchase of MGMT’s new album Congratulations through Members’ Lounge, and are available from 11am Wednesday March 31st. Details on how to get tickets can be found on facebook.com/memberslounge.

Virgin Mobile's Surprise Gig offer gives its Members a ‘surprise’ 1GB bonus internet data to use as they like to enjoy more internet. It gives Post-Paid Mobile Members the opportunity to get a 1GB data plan free for three months, Post-Paid Broadband Members a bonus 1GB monthly for three months, a 1GB bonus with Your Cap recharges for Pre-Paid Mobile, and a 1GB bonus on activation for new Pre-Paid Broadband Members. The offer runs until 30 June 2010.

The Surprise Gig tour features surprise performances by various artists at unexpected locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane between April and June this year. Exclusive content relating to the Virgin Mobile Surprise Gig tour including ringtones, videos, wallpapers and exclusive music mixes, will be available for everyone and will help Virgin Mobile Members explore and enjoy their free 1GB of data.

The MGMT gig is the second Surprise Gig of the tour, which launched in Melbourne at the weekend, with Wolfmother giving a spectacular performance at the tour’s launch party hosted by Richard Branson.

Virgin Mobile’s Marketing Director Anthony Hearne said, “Wolfmother gave a fantastic performance on the weekend in Melbourne and we’re thrilled to surprise MGMT fans with a second chance to see them at the Virgin Mobile Metro next week and provide the opportunity for everyone to enjoy MGMT content for free.”

For the remainder of the ‘surprise’ gigs, the artist and location will be announced shortly before they take place through the Virgin Mobile Members Lounge facebook.com/memberslounge. To get Surprise Gigs alerts, information about getting tickets to a MGMT’s exclusive performance, and for all Surprise Gig Tour content including Wolfmother and more, simply become a fan of Members’ Lounge on Facebook: www.facebook.com/memberslounge.

For more on Virgin Mobile’s Surprise Gig offer, go to: www.virginmobile.com.au/surprisegig.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – jess@onegreenbean.com.au or 02 8020 1806

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

Terms and Conditions apply, including Post-Paid Mobile: 1GB data plan costs $15 a month. For each of the first three months you’ll receive a credit of $15. Post-Paid Broadband: 1 GB of bonus data will be applied to the accounts of customers on eligible plans each month for three months. Pre-Paid Mobile: Only 5GB may be accumulated at any 1 time. 28 day expiry. Pre-Paid Broadband: New customers only, excludes BYO. Activate before 30/6/10 to receive 1GB bonus data. See virginmobile.com.au for full terms and conditions.

Get 1GB of free data with Virgin Mobile until June 2010

Sydney, 29 March 2010 – To celebrate its Surprise Gig bonus data offer, Virgin Mobile today announced the Surprise Gig Tour – a series of free, last-minute music gigs around Australia to be announced via its Members' Lounge Facebook page.

Virgin Mobile's Surprise Gig offer gives its Members a ‘surprise’ 1GB bonus internet data to use as they like to enjoy more internet. It gives Post-Paid Mobile Members the opportunity to get a 1GB data plan free for three months, Post-Paid Broadband Members a bonus 1GB monthly for three months, a 1GB bonus with Your Cap recharges for Pre-Paid Mobile, and a 1GB bonus on activation for new Pre-Paid Broadband Members. The offer runs until 30 June 2010.

The Surprise Gig Tour will feature surprise performances by various artists at unexpected locations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane between April and June this year. Exclusive content relating to the Virgin Mobile Surprise Gig tour including ringtones, videos, wallpapers and exclusive music mixes, will be available for everyone and will help Virgin Mobile Members explore and enjoy their free 1GB of data. The tour launched in Melbourne at the weekend, with Wolfmother giving a spectacular performance to a party hosted by Richard Branson at Ding Dong Lounge.

The next Surprise Gig will be a live performance by American indie darlings MGMT on Wednesday 7 April at the Virgin Mobile Metro in Sydney. Tickets will be given away with the online purchase of MGMT’s new album Congratulations through Members’ Lounge, and are available from 11am Wednesday March 31st. Details on how to get tickets can be found on facebook.com/memberslounge .

Virgin Mobile’s Marketing Director Anthony Hearne said, “With the rise of smart phones, a lot of people can now access the internet from their handset. But because we all use the internet differently, we want to give our Members the freedom to go where they want, rather than restricting them to one or two sites. That’s why we’re offering a ‘surprise’ 1GB of data for customers to use as they wish – whether that’s downloading a ringtone, viewing a music video or following us on Facebook to find out where the next Surprise Gig is going to be!”

For the remainder of the gigs, the artist and location will be announced shortly before they take place.

“Ultimately the Surprise Gig tour is about an experience that can be enjoyed in person, on your mobile phone or online. And because it will be free for anyone to download, everybody gets a chance to enjoy the gigs!” said Anthony.

To get Surprise Gigs alerts, information about getting tickets to a MGMT’s exclusive performance, and for all Surprise Gig Tour content including Wolfmother and more, simply become a fan of Members’ Lounge on Facebook: www.facebook.com/memberslounge.

For more on Virgin Mobile’s Surprise Gig offer, go to: www.virginmobile.com.au/surprisegig.

~ ENDS ~

For more information or to arrange an interview please contact:

Jess Makin – One Green Bean – jess@onegreenbean.com.au or 02 8020 1806

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

Terms and Conditions apply, including Post-Paid Mobile: 1GB data plan costs $15 a month. For each of the first three months you’ll receive a credit of $15. Post-Paid Broadband: 1 GB of bonus data will be applied to the accounts of customers on eligible plans each month for three months. Promotion runs from April 1 to June 30 2010. Pre-Paid Mobile: Only 5GB may be accumulated at any 1 time. 28 day expiry. Pre-Paid Broadband: New customers only, excludes BYO. Activate before 30/6/10 to receive 1GB bonus data. See virginmobile.com.au for full terms and conditions.

Get 1GB of free data with Virgin Mobile until June 2010

Sydney, 26th March, 2010 – Virgin Mobile Australia is thrilled to be getting in on the 2010 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix action by announcing its sponsorship, together with Virgin Blue, of the Virgin Racing Team. The event will take place this weekend 25th-28th March at Albert Park Raceway in Melbourne.

As part of the sponsorship, Virgin Mobile will gain ‘money-cant-buy’ access to the pit lane and the Virgin Racing Team. This will be used to develop exclusive Virgin Racing content, from the 2010 Australian Grand Prix and throughout the season, which will be provided to our Virgin Mobile Members on Members Lounge (www.memberslounge.com.au).

"By pushing technological boundaries and doing things a little differently, the Virgin Racing team have come a long way in the past few months. We love the way they're challenging convention in one of the world's most prestigious sports", said Anthony Hearne, Marketing Director, Virgin Mobile Australia. "Collaborating with other Virgin family companies has already benefited Virgin Mobile customers through opportunity to gain Velocity points and mobile credit when you fly with Virgin Blue. We’re thrilled to be supporting Virgin Racing and extending these benefits further".

"We greatly appreciate the support of Virgin Blue and Virgin Mobile," said Brett Volker, Head of Brand, Virgin Racing. "It's always great to work with other Virgin businesses because they get what we’re about and there's never a shortage of ideas we can execute around the races. Meanwhile on the track, the team are determined to achieve the best possible performance here in Australia hot on the heels Virgin Racings Grand Prix debut in Bahrain."

For more information please contact:

Jess Makin - One Green Bean - 02 9699 9503 - Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821

Get 1GB of free data with Virgin Mobile until June 2010

Sydney, 26th March, 2010 – Virgin Mobile Australia is thrilled to be getting in on the 2010 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix action by announcing its sponsorship, together with Virgin Blue, of the Virgin Racing Team. The event will take place this weekend 25th-28th March at Albert Park Raceway in Melbourne.

As part of the sponsorship, Virgin Mobile will gain ‘money-cant-buy’ access to the pit lane and the Virgin Racing Team. This will be used to develop exclusive Virgin Racing content, from the 2010 Australian Grand Prix and throughout the season, which will be provided to our Virgin Mobile Members on Members Lounge (www.memberslounge.com.au).

"By pushing technological boundaries and doing things a little differently, the Virgin Racing team have come a long way in the past few months. We love the way they're challenging convention in one of the world's most prestigious sports", said Anthony Hearne, Marketing Director, Virgin Mobile Australia. "Collaborating with other Virgin family companies has already benefited Virgin Mobile customers through opportunity to gain Velocity points and mobile credit when you fly with Virgin Blue. We’re thrilled to be supporting Virgin Racing and extending these benefits further".

"We greatly appreciate the support of Virgin Blue and Virgin Mobile," said Brett Volker, Head of Brand, Virgin Racing. "It's always great to work with other Virgin businesses because they get what we’re about and there's never a shortage of ideas we can execute around the races. Meanwhile on the track, the team are determined to achieve the best possible performance here in Australia hot on the heels Virgin Racings Grand Prix debut in Bahrain."

For more information please contact:

Jess Makin - One Green Bean - 02 9699 9503 - Jess@onegreenbean.com.au

Amber Morris - Virgin Mobile - amber.morris@virginmobile.com.au or 0403 999 821